Tastes Better Today
by PaperCutVictim
Summary: On her second day at her new school, Kanade eats lunch by herself in a corner of the school's cafeteria. But her solitude is ended as a boy sits across from her, greeting her blank stare with a casual, "Yo!" AU


Just a note before we get started, this is an AU setting in the real world. So, sadly, there will not be any Guard Skill awesomeness or schoolgirls with guns. I know, I'm sad about it too.

DISCLAIMER: Perhaps one day I shall be fortunate enough to own Angel Beats and put in a hell of a lot more Yui x Hinata moments. Until then, I do not own it, or any of the characters. Hence, I shall settle for fanfiction.

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><p>The cafeteria was lively with the chatter of the students, but she was not a part of it. This was not an unusual occurrence for Kanade, for this was how it was for her during elementary and junior high school as well. She sat at a table in the corner of the cafeteria, quietly eating the mapo tofu lunch that she had bought. A part of her wanted to think it was only because this was her second day in this school, but she imagined that was her just being hopeful. She knew that she tended to intimidate people. Despite her short stature, Kanade's expression was typically locked into a deadpan mask that made it seem as if she were glaring. While on the plus side, this meant that no bullies ever tried to pick on her, this also scared away any children that might have otherwise tried to be her friend. It didn't help either that both of her parents were quite busy and so she rarely had much time to see them. In fact, her family had moved to this neighborhood because her father had been transferred to the local branch. Leaving her old neighborhood had hardly been a sadness for her, as there were no friends to leave behind.<p>

Sadly, it didn't seem it was going to be much different here either. Kanade sighed imperceptibly before eating another spoonful of mapo tofu. It really wasn't much different at all. People still seemed to be a bit intimidated by her. The mapo tofu here tasted just the same as the ones she'd eaten in elementary and junior high... which wasn't necessarily a bad thing. Mapo tofu had long been a comfort food for her, and the taste, while inferior to whatever she could make at home, was still not bad.

Just as she was about to take another spoonful, she heard a light clatter as a tray was set down across from her. Kanade glanced up to see a red-haired boy helping himself to the bench across from her, his hand held up in casual greeting. "Yo!" he said with a smile.

She returned his greeting with a blank stare, unsure what to make of this. This did not dim his smile any. In fact, he seemed unfazed by her confusion, which was often misread as a cold glare like most of her other expressions, and instead went on, "I saw you were sitting here by yourself, so I thought I'd sit over here. That okay with you, Tachibana?"

She nodded. It took her a moment to recognize him: Otonashi Yuzuru-kun, from her class. He sat two rows behind her, and a row to the right, if she recalled correctly. And... that was about all she knew about him. Not unusual, since Kanade didn't really pay much attention to anything else but her studies while she was in class, and had no one to really chat with during passing periods or breaks. His presence surprised her, but it was not unwelcome in the least. She watched him dig into his sandwich, one that seemed like it was homemade. Making an attempt at conversation, she said, "Your sandwich looks good. Did you make it?"

"Hn? Oh, no, definitely not. My sandwiches come out a lot uglier than these," he laughed. "Nah, my little sister made it."

"Oh, I see."

"Yeah, Hatsune – that's my sister - was sick for the longest time, but she got better last year. It's uh... It's a long story," he said, slightly uncomfortably. He recovered to continue in a friendly tone, "But anyway, once she got better, she's been really eager to do all sorts of stuff."

Kanade nodded, holding back the urge to ask what exactly had been his sister's condition. It seemed that it was not a comfortable topic for him, so she did not press him. She took up another spoonful while she considered what to talk about next (and buy some time to think on that, since she rarely ever held conversations with anyone) when another tray was set down next to Otonashi by a girl.

"So this is where you were at!" the girl said. "Change of scenery, Otonashi-kun?"

He smiled up at her. "Hey, Yuri. Yeah, something like that. She-" He nodded in Kanade's direction, "-was eating by herself, so I figured she might like the company."

"Eh?" She turned toward Kanade, her astonished emerald eyes meeting the gold gaze Kanade cast back at her. "You can't be doing that!" she scolded. "Food doesn't taste as good when you eat alone!"

Kanade blinked. "Is that so?" She honestly had no idea, for she rarely even got to eat meals together with her parents.

"It is!" The girl's concerned scowl became a genuinely warm, friendly smile. "Tell you what, next time, you can just eat with the rest of us, 'kay? It's way too lonely eating by yourself at a table like this."

"Yeah, there's always room for more in our group," Yuzuru added kindly.

Kanade looked between the two of them and hesitated briefly before nodding. She was feeling slightly overwhelmed, but at the same time, it wasn't unpleasant. These two were very kind, she could tell. In the back of her mind, she dared to hope things were looking up for her.

"Oh, right, I forgot to introduce myself," the girl said. Lightly brushing a few strands of plum-colored hair over her shoulder, she smiled and said, "I'm Nakamura Yuri. What's your name?"

"Tachibana," Kanade answered.

"What about your given name?"

"Given? Kanade."

"Tachibana Kanade... That's actually a really nice name," Yuri commented honestly. "Somehow, playing music kinda suits you. Do you play music?"

Kanade nodded. Because her parents lacked time to spend with her, they tried to make up for it by giving her anything she wanted. One of these was a piano, which she had taught herself how to play quite well. It helped keep her mind off her loneliness, and besides, she did genuinely enjoy music. Her attempt to compose a reply was interrupted as Yuri suddenly leaned toward her, the fingers of her right hand cupping her chin thoughtfully. Yuri's emerald eyes stared at her, seemingly studying every detail. Involuntarily, Kanade leaned back, and even Yuzuru was looking strangely at her.

"Is... something wrong?" she asked hesitantly.

Yuri did not reply. Suddenly, she straightened, making the green ribbon in her hair bounce lightly as she beamed down at her. "Now I know why you look so familiar! You're _that_ Tachibana, aren't you? You moved in next door to me!"

Kanade tipped her head to the right. Had she...? She _did_ vaguely remembering seeing a girl over the weekend playing on the front lawn of the house next door with three children clearly younger than her, but...

Seeing the lack of recognition in her still mostly deadpan expression, Yuri deflated. No sooner had she done so than she snapped back into glaring down at her. "How do you not recognize your next door neighbor?" Yuri demanded, clearly outraged. "Maybe if you'd look up from that computer screen of yours for once, this wouldn't be an issue!" Yuri huffed indignantly before leaning back down toward her, her hands on her hips. "Whatever! You had better say hi to me tomorrow or else I'm really gonna be mad! Okay?"

A little bewildered and a bit overwhelmed, Kanade nodded. Instantly, Yuri's mood improved, and she grinned down at her. "Good! I'm looking forward to it then! Hey, we can walk to school too if you want."

"Sure," replied Kanade. She felt a genuine smile pulling at her mouth. While a tad bossy and overwhelming, she really was kind. "Actually, I'd really like that, Nakamura-san-"

"Yuri."

"Huh?"

"Yuri. 'Nakamura-san' sounds way too stuffy. We're friends, aren't we? Just call me Yuri. I'll call you Kanade-chan, 'kay?"

"O-Okay." It was such a simple thing, but it felt good to have someone call her by her given name. She was so used to being called "Tachibana-san", if she ever was addressed by anyone her age. Perhaps Yuri might be being a tad familiar, but honestly, Kanade did not mind it at all. In fact, she rather liked the warmth she felt from being called in such a manner.

"So, Kanade-chan-"

"Yo! So this is where you guys were!"

At the sound of the jovial voice, all eyes turned toward the blue-haired boy approaching their table. He greeted Yuzuru and Yuri before flashing a bright, friendly grin onto Kanade. "Oh, a new face. I don't believe we've been introduced." He turned an expectant look onto his friends.

Deciding to do the honors, Yuri indicated Kanade with her hand, saying, "Hinata-kun, meet Tachibana Kanade-chan." Turning to her new friend, she gestured towards Hinata, saying, "And Kanade-chan, this is Hinata Hideki-kun. He's an idiot, but he can be nice and he comes in handy every so often."

Hinata, who had been in the middle of striking a "cool guy" pose, suddenly realized what Yuri had said and exclaimed, "Hey, that's not praise!"

"I never said it was," Yuri replied in a matter-of-fact tone. "And it's true: you _are _an idiot." She snapped apart her chopsticks to begin digging into her udon, ignoring Hinata's sullen glare.

Hinata sulked, looking very much like a pouting little boy. "You really are cruel, Yurippe."

Kanade tipped her head to the side questioningly. "Yurippe?"

"Yeah, Yurippe!" Hinata said cheerfully. "It's her nickname. Cute, isn't it?"

"Ugh," Yuri groaned after swallowing down her udon. "That's such a horrid nickname."

"What? Even your kids call you that."

"Don't remind me!" she snapped.

Kanade turned in alarm toward Yuri. "Kids?" Those three children she saw Yuri playing with... those were... her _children?_

"No, no, it's not what you think!" she exclaimed at seeing the wide-eyed shock on Kanade's face. "My siblings. I've got three younger siblings, but I take care of them a lot, so that idiot over there (She ignored Hinata's protest as she jerked her thumb in his direction.) took to calling them my 'kids'." Yuri added laughingly, "It'd really be something for a girl my age to have a kid already, let alone three, ne?"

Kanade smiled and nodded, laughing lightly as she recovered from her alarm. That really _would_ have been something... She could easily imagine someone like Yuri having plenty of admirers. She was stunningly beautiful, but from what she could see, it was her kind and lively personality that would reel people in without fail. Still... having a kid was a whole different ballgame.

She decided to put the thoughts out of her head for the moment as she turned to Hinata who said, "So Kanade-chan, I haven't really seen you arou- GAH!"

"Senpai~!"

As Kanade watched with surprise, a pink-haired girl practically tackled Hinata from behind, her arms thrown around his neck with an affectionate liveliness that bordered upon violence. Her other two companions greeted the newcomer as if this were not an unusual occurrence in the least. She cheerily returned their greetings, her death grip around Hinata's neck not loosening in the slightest (_I think he's turning purple..._ Kanade thought worriedly.) until she caught notice of her.

"Heya, new girl!" she greeted cheerfully. "Nice to see a new face around here! Pleased to meet ya!"

Her eyes, which were also pink (and Kanade began to wonder if she were simply genetically pink), zeroed in on the mapo tofu sitting in front of Kanade, which she had not been able to eat a spoonful of since the stream of new people (not that she minded). Her eyes seemingly flashed at the sight, her grin turning feral. "Ooh, now I know what I'm getting!" And as suddenly as she'd arrived, she zipped off, leaving Hinata able to gasp for air again.

"Um..." Kanade began uncertainly. "Who... was that?"

"What, the hurricane that just blew past us?" Yuri quipped good-naturedly. "That'd be Yui. She's an idiot too, but she's a friendly idiot."

"Who needs to lower her damn sugar intake," Hinata growled sourly, his face finally changing back to normal from the blue complexion he'd been sporting under Yui's death grip. "Nearly killed me there."

"Aww, but you looked you were enjoying it, Hinata-kun," Yuri teased. Turning to Kanade, she asked, "Yui looks like a good match for Hinata-kun, ne? Since they're both friendly idiots and all."

"Wh-What kinda idiot idea is that?" he exclaimed, his cheeks warming. He went on to grumble, "That little menace could stand to have a few tranquilizers slipped into her drink."

"She wouldn't be nearly as lively performing with GirlDeMo if she did though," Yuzuru pointed out. He grinned mischievously as he added, "And I don't think you'd be too pleased missing those upskirt shots you keep getting from your front row spot."

"Wh-What the hell!" Hinata exclaimed, blushing hotly with apparent outrage. "Why the hell would I wanna look up that brat's skirt? She's got the body of a freakin' middle schooler!"

(He did not notice that this comment had made Kanade look down at herself uncomfortably. There were parts of her body that she wished would have developed more but sadly had decided not to.)

"You tell us," Yuri said with a broad, equally mischievous grin. (Kanade glanced at what she could of Yuri's body, trying not to be too obvious about the fact that she was dismally comparing measurements.) "You're the one who keeps trying to look~"

"Plus," Yuzuru added. "You never seem to shut up when it comes to her."

"Th-That doesn't mean a thing! It's your imaginations!" he blared. Turning to Kanade, who snapped her gaze back to his face, Hinata said, "Don't believe a word these troublemakers tell you, Kanade-chan. I tell you this out of the goodness of my heart and my concern for you as a friend!"

Kanade nodded cautiously, taking a moment to compose her thoughts. Actually, she sensed there was far less annoyance in him concerning Yui than Hinata was letting on, and also that he didn't seem to be entirely honest about his feelings. Besides, Yui seemed to be _very_ affectionate with him. It might have been the shoujo manga she read in her spare time affecting her thinking, but she had a strong feeling there was much more to their relationship than his apparent irritation with the pink-haired girl.

...who had just brought a tray slamming down on the spot beside Kanade.

Kanade turned towards her, seeing her seat herself, skillfully twirling a spoon around her fingers as she fixed her with a challenging smile. "I don't believe we've ever met, new girl, so I'll start first! I'm Kitamura Yui!"

"T-Tachibana Kanade." She looked at Yui's tray, seeing a bowl full of the same angrily red mapo tofu that Kanade was having. She opened her mouth to ask if Yui liked mapo tofu too, but was cut off.

"Once the participants have named themselves, the duel begins! Don't think you can win just because you've got a head start on me!" Without another word, Yui began to wolf down her mapo tofu.

Blinking, Kanade stared at her with concern. While she hadn't been aware she had been entered into a contest of some kind, she was more worried about the fact that Yui was rapidly turning redder and redder... Yui's looked fresh too, so the heat itself was probably rapidly becoming unbearable... Competition wasn't normally in Kanade's nature anyway, so she felt it was fine to let her win by default but it was hard to find a moment to interrupt Yui while she was stuffing her face, clearly in pain.

Once Kanade saw her eyes watering, she felt she could stay silent no more, and began, "Um..."

"_**GYAAAHHH!"**_

Yui's screech of pain almost made Kanade cover her ears. "Water!" she wailed, having turned about as red as the mapo tofu she'd been eating. "Water! Water!"

She flailed wildly in panic before zeroing in on her water. But just as her fingertips brushed the cool glass, it was snatched out of her reach. Scandalized, she gaped at her tormentor, who flashed her a wicked grin, wagging it tantalizingly out of her reach.

"Oh, I'm sorry," Hinata said innocently. "Did you need this?"

Her voice shrill with desperation, Yui screeched, "Give it back!"

Her hand slashed out to try to reclaim her prize, only to hit air as he pulled just out of reach. Hinata wagged a finger at her, each movement accompanied with a condescending tsk. "Is that anyway to speak to your senpai?" he chided.

"You beast!" Yui protested, thrashing uselessly for her water, which Hinata kept just close enough for her fingertips to touch. "You monster! Demon! Ogre! Water-stealer!"

While Yuri and Yuzuru laughed, Kanade kept watching them, blinking occasionally. She couldn't help but giggle lightly as Hinata continued his game, Yui whining in frustration as she reached for her cup. All the while, she screamed shrill accusations of torture, abuse of the senpai-kouhai relationship, child abuse, and violations of the Geneva Convention (_Does she even know what that is?_ Kanade wondered.)

Eventually, tears started at the corners of Yui's eyes, partly from the searing pain that was doubtless still raging in her mouth, and also from frustration. Seeing this, he finally went easy and held the glass out to her with an inviting smile. Yui snatched it from his hands and chugged until it was empty, slamming the cup down onto her tray with a relieved sigh. She scowled up at Hinata and loudly spat insults, until he began to rub her head affectionately with a placating smile. Immediately, Yui shrank into herself, averting her gaze while blushing and stammering shyly.

Kanade smiled warmly at the sight before eating a spoonful of her mapo tofu. Once the flavor hit her tongue, she paused. _Strange,_ she thought with a confused blink. The whole time that all of this had been going on, she had not taken a single bite, so the food had regrettably gotten a bit cold. But... nevertheless... She chewed experimentally before swallowing it down. Very strange. It should've tasted a bit worse but... Presently, she smiled.

_Yuri's right__, _Kanade thought._ Somehow, it tastes better today._

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><p><em>Fin<em>

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><p>Kinda sappy, in a friendship kinda way, which is a change from my whole lovey-dovey sappy stuff. XP This idea is based off a fan comic I read once. Well, more of, I looked at it, since it had no dialogue except for the end. The original did not have Yurippe in it though, so the addition of her was pretty much all me.<p>

This is not necessarily meant to be their second lives. I was originally gonna try for it, but I felt it slowed down the pace too much when I tried it out, so the idea was scrapped. I wanted to keep the focus on Kanade-chan as she meets the other four. Granted, I ended up getting a tad sidetracked with the interactions between Yui and Hinata, but frankly, I couldn't resist. I think those two are absolutely adorable together. ^_^

As for Yui's last name being Kitamura, this is just a nod to the fact that her voice actress is the awesome Kitamura Eri, who is shiploads of epic win. *fanboy moment* She was never given a last name in the anime, and I don't think in any of the other Angel Beats media, she's been assigned a last name either, so I just took a liberty here and there.

Anyway, if you've made it to this point, please leave a review, whether it's constructive criticism or just to tell me you liked it, though flames shall be stored for later usage. Until next time! ^_^v


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